Rank in Vancouver: 9th place (out of 25)
Rank in Metro Vancouver: 18th place (out of 48)
Rank in Southwestern B.C.: 31st place (out of 77)

Bomber Brewing is an institution in some Vancouver circles, despite being just four years old. Ask anyone who has ever done an East Van brewery bike crawl, and they’ll tell you exactly how necessary it is to stop off at Bomber for a Passionfruit Ale (Park Life) in the peak of summer. Being in the most crowded area for breweries in Vancouver, that’s no mean feat.

Standing alongside the Park Life seasonal, Bomber has a strong core group of three beers; an ESB, a Pilsner, and an IPA. Among those, the ESB is the clear standout, and easily one of the best ESBs in the region. Other highlights of their lineup are the seasonal Marzen and Russian Imperial Stout.

You can always count on Bomber’s beer to measure up; it’s a brewery that just doesn’t sell bad beer. Nonetheless, most of their flavours aren’t varied enough to make a giant impact on your palette; aside from Passion Fruit Ale, their seasonal brews are almost all on the darker shade of the spectrum.

And the tasting room is nice for what it is, even if “what it is” means “a near-windowless concrete box”: It has a cozy, community feel and a very well-stocked set of draft and off-sales.

We enjoy Bomber for what it is. Consistent competency may not get you buzz, but it does demand respect. Still, it’s hard not to feel that they could reach new heights if they spread their wings in middle age and had more fun with their recipes.